Keegan Bradley: ‘My goal is just to putt average’

Jutanugarn, Thompson split the spoils

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The matches felt a little closer Friday in the Presidents Cup. And then Max Homa made two big putts that gave the U.S. Team the same outcome. In the third straight Fourballs match that went the distance, Homa poured in a 12-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole for a 1-up lead. After Taylor Pendrith gave the International Team hope with a birdie on the 18th hole, Homa matched him with another 12-foot birdie putt for the win. That gave the Americans another session by a 4-1 margin, stretching their lead to 8-2 going into the weekend at Quail Hollow and making another U.S. victory start to look inevitable. For the second straight time on home soil, the powerful U.S. Team goes into a double session on Saturday with a mathematical chance to win the cup. “This is insane,” Homa said after he and Billy Horschel outlasted the Canadian duo of Pendrith and Corey Conners. “To come down to the 18th two days in a row, man, what a day. Billy made some amazing putts. I just wanted to help him.” Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were on hand at Quail Hollow Club, and while it looked for a moment as though the International Team might make a game of it, the deficit at the end of the day was as daunting as ever. The lone point for the International Team came from two ties. Scottie Scheffler had a 10-foot birdie putt for the win on the 18th, and only a few blades of grass kept it from dropping as he and Sam Burns halved the match with Sungjae Im and Sebastian Munoz. Cameron Young had a 25-foot putt for the win that missed. He and Kevin Kisner settled for a half-point against Mito Pereira and Christiaan Bezuidenhout in the only match where the International Team ever led. The strength of the U.S. Team came from a pair of dynamic partnerships. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele were 5-up at the turn and easily held on for a 3-and-2 win over Hideki Matsuyama and Tom Kim. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas improved to 6-2 as a team in Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup matches, leading from the fourth hole in a 2-and-1 victory over the Australian pair of Adam Scott and Cameron Davis. As usual, Spieth and Thomas were far from dull. They were 2 up with five holes to play when Thomas hit 6-iron to 2 feet on the par-3 14th over water to a back pin for birdie. And right when it looked as though the International side might get closer, Spieth was up to his tricks. His approach on the 15th — the 18th hole when Quail Hollow hosts the Wells Fargo Championship — was headed for the stream when it hit the rocks and caromed over the green into the rough. He chipped 15 feet by, and then holed that par to halve the hole. The Spieth-Thomas and Cantlay-Schauffele teams, formed as much by friendship as their games, are 2-0 this week and are tough to beat no matter whom the International Team sends out against them. The passion came from the Presidents Cup rookies. Homa’s goal all year was to make the team and he was among six captain’s picks by Davis Love III. Homa won twice last season, and started the new season with an unlikely title defense at Silverado in the Fortinet Championship when he chipped in for birdie on the final hole and Danny Willett three-putted from 4 feet. He flew across the country from California and looked energized, particularly at the end of the day with another point on the board for the Americans. It was the second straight day Homa was in the final match, meaning the entire U.S. Team was there to see it. “It’s surreal to have 10 of the best golfers I’ve ever seen in my life watching you and you’ve got to help them,” Homa said. “It’s a heavy weight. But it’s also really fun.” Saturday is pivotal at every Presidents Cup, and it could be the last chance for the International Team to get back into the game with four matches of Foursomes in the morning and four matches of Fourballs in the afternoon. The U.S. Team would have to win seven of them and halve the other to clinch the cup, which sounds unlikely except for who they have and how they’re playing. They came within one match of doing that at Liberty National in 2017.

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – It’s been seven years since Vijay Singh last appeared in the final group on Sunday at a PGA TOUR event. That’s no surprise – at age 56, Singh has gradually shifted his focus to PGA TOUR Champions. It’s been, well, never since Wyndham Clark played in the final group of a TOUR event. That’s no surprise, either — he’s just a rookie making his 11th start of the season and 19th of his young career. So raise your hand if you expected Singh and Clark to tee off last in Sunday’s final round of The Honda Classic. Anyone? Anybody? Didn’t think so. But there they will be, two players 31 years apart in age, each looking for a victory that will define their careers in completely opposite ways. Tee time will be 1:35 p.m. ET at PGA National. “It’s just fun being in contention,â€� said Clark, who is at 7 under and owns a one-shot lead after shooting a 3-under 67 on Saturday. “I love the moment. I love playing in front of fans and I love to win. “So I want to be there on Sundays, and the fact that I am is great.â€� Singh is one of three players tied for second at 6 under, along with Keith Mitchell and Kyoung-Hoon Lee. Unlike Clark, Singh has been there plenty of times on Sunday; after all, he has 38 career PGA TOUR wins, won the FedExCup in 2008 and already has been enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame. His last TOUR victory was 11 years ago – specifically, 3,835 days ago — when he won the first two events of the FedExCup Playoffs. If he can pull off the win Sunday, he would replace Sam Snead (age 52) as the oldest winner in TOUR history. MUST READS: Round 3, The Honda Classic What you need to know about Wyndham Clark 56-year-old Vijay Singh in contention for record-breaking win Tape job on arm helps JT bounce back Adam Schenk on penalty: ‘Intention was never to cheat’ “I don’t know what I found, but I’m going to see if it’s still there tomorrow,â€� said Singh, who tied for sixth in his last appearance at PGA National in 2016. The last time he was in the final group at a TOUR event was the 2012 BMW Championship, when he finished eighth. New NBC analyst Paul Azinger is three years older than Singh. “Vijay is a miracle man and he has still got it,â€� Azinger said. “Nobody hits more balls than Vijay Singh. At age 56, I bet he’ll be a little nervous tomorrow.â€� Clark – who made the field this week thanks to his top-10 finish at last week’s Puerto Rico Open — has torn up the front nine at PGA National, with 12 birdies against one bogey. If he can control his nerves, he might get out to a quick start. Meanwhile, Singh has managed to deal with the infamous Bear Trap – holes 15, 16 and 17 – in impressive fashion. He’s 2 under in that stretch, with the rest of the field a collective 0.578 over par on those holes. Of course, if either stumbles, there are plenty of others lurking, including some of the field’s notable names. Rickie Fowler shot a 66 on Saturday that he called a “great roundâ€� and is in solo fifth at 5 under. Brooks Koepka is tied for sixth at 4 under and has to feel good about his position considering, “I haven’t hit the ball very well this week.â€� Fowler won The Honda Classic in 2017; another former Honda winner is Michael Thompson in 2013. He’s in the group with Koepka and has been on a roll lately – top-15 finishes in each of his last four starts, including a T-7 at the Genesis Open. “I’ve got a really great swing thought that I’ve been riding,â€� Thompson said. Fowler and Thompson know what it takes to win on PGA National. Koepka knows what it takes to win on tough courses. “No lead is safe here, really,â€� Fowler said. “I should know – two years ago, I was four shots clear, and there’s a lot of water around this place. There’s a lot of things that can happen. … “Big thing for me tomorrow is keeping it as clean as possible. I’m going to have to come from behind and with that, you can’t really make mistakes. … There’s not a big enough cushion out here.â€� Added Koepka: “If you’re nervous, it’ll show up.â€� There’s every reason for Clark and Singh to be nervous in the final group Sunday. A breakthrough win is possible for Clark; a record-setting win is within grasp for Singh. On Saturday night, Clark said he plans to play cards with his caddie, something he does to relax each night during a tournament. Not until Sunday afternoon will he truly know the hand he’s been dealt.

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